New Recruit
by Beth - Geek Chick
Summary: Repost from secondary account, misunderstoodmuse. Stu's been gone for a year. What's he been up to, and what about a certain friend that he left behind?


A/N This story was previously on a secondary account, misunderstoodmuse. It was the only story on that account, so I've decided to close it down and consolidate it to here.

Chapter 1  
Stu Ahmet stood at the glass doors of the Domestic Protection Division, taking a deep breath and straightening his spine before grasping hold of the handle and pulling the heavy door open. It'd been 18 months since he'd been here. And, he saw, it was obvious that changes had been since he last stepped foot in this part of the building.

He assumed his own personal changes would stand out, but the sparkling new area in front of him, with agents, officers and support staff scurrying here and there, took his breath away.

"Excuse me."

He heard the familiar female voice behind him and took a step aside to let her through the door. "Hey, Annie."

The tall, well-dressed blonde turned in her Louboutins at the mention of her name. Annie's eyes widened as she took in the smiling man before her. Dark, fitted suit, crisp white shirt and silk tie. The outfit was CIA officer stock, but the man filling it out – very well, she couldn't help but notice – took her ability to breathe normally away.

"Stu?" she whispered.

"One and the same," Stu said with a half-smile. "How you been, Helvetica?"

At the mention of her previous undercover alias, Annie's voice came back with a smile and a laugh. "God, no one's called me that for a year. What are you doing here? Where have you been? What happened?"

Stu blinked at the barrage of questions, "Which should I answer first?"

Annie tucked her arm through his and walked him through the bullpen. "Whichever one you want. But the details will have to wait 'til later."

"Where are we going?" Stu asked.

"Tech Ops."

"Uhh, Annie, there's something you should know first –" Stu stammered, but the blonde's quick stilettos had him in front of the glass-walled room before he could finish his sentence.

Annie pulled open the sliding door and pulled him through. "Hey, Auggie, why didn't you tell me that Stu was coming back?"

The head of tech ops spun in his chair at the familiar sound of stilettos and men's dress shoes. The former, obviously his favorite agent, Annie, and the second he couldn't immediately place. "Stu? Haven't heard from him for over a year now. Why? Have you heard something about my favorite a/v geek?"

Stu chuckled while Annie looked faintly embarrassed at Auggie's old nickname. He decided to break the ice himself. "She's heard that I'm back, Aug. How have you been?"

The man's voice was familiar, but it had an edge to it that piqued Auggie's interest. "Stu?" He stood and held out his hand. When another clasped it, he recognized the handshake, and though he could tell there was a change in the man, the cologne was the same. "It is you."

The sightless man's wide smile and pull into a half hug dispelled all of Stu's apprehension as to whether he'd be welcomed back into the fold. "Yeah, it's me. Listen, you guys need to know something, but I gotta talk with Joan first. Meet up with you later?"

"Sure," Annie and Auggie replied.

Auggie dropped back down in his chair, his mouth still hanging slightly open as his door slid open and then shut again at Stu's leaving. "Something's different about him."

Annie smirked as she leaned against Auggie's desk and watched the tall, well-dressed man walk through the bullpen and up the stairs to Joan's office. "You could say that."

"Annie, spill it."

"He's in a suit, Auggie. A nice suit, with a designer silk tie and unscuffed shoes."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Huh," Auggie said, his eyebrows drawn in thought. "Think he just came back from a wedding?"

Annie laughed, "No, and given the fact that he went straight to Joan's office, I'd say our Stu is moving up in the world."

Stu let himself out of Joan's office, a self-satisfied half-grin on his lips. Joan had been more than happy and appreciative of his progress through the Farm and the further study that enabled him to get to where he was now. A fully trained officer of the CIA, with a unique skill set that now extended beyond his technical and computer knowledge.

He already knew how to speak and write Arabic, and he'd became more fluent of Punjabi and Urdu. He never thought his background would come in handy much in his chosen field, but when Joan had approached him over a year ago with her proposal, he jumped at the chance. He loved his work, but the chance to use the second language he'd learned as a child from his mother was too great to pass up.

She didn't have anything for him yet, so he was to settle in and get comfortable. He reached the bullpen, but didn't head for his desk, which was located behind Annie's. Instead, he headed back to tech ops to check in with his former workmates. Auggie wasn't at his desk, but he saw a few others in the next room. A few minutes later, he was on the receiving end of half a dozen of handshakes and claps on the back and chest bumps.

Why did he ever think he wouldn't be welcomed back, he thought. Once he gave the explanation that he'd been recruited and spent a year at the Farm, they all began peppering him with congratulations and questions.

After answering what he could – keeping details to a minimum, of course – he asked the one thing that'd been on his mind since he stepped foot back into the department. "Where's Sami?"

Samantha "Sami" Parker settled further into her office chair, trying to concentrate on the work in front of her as the muffled din sounded from the next room. For once, she wished this room was like the rest of the department with glass walls so she could tell what the ruckus was all about.

Auggie must be out of the office, she thought. He'd never stand for the kind of noise her co-workers were making now. Five minutes, she figured. She'd give them five more minutes, then go in herself to tell them to keep it down.

Out of everyone, the most excited Stu was to reunite with was his Sami. They'd started in the support department of the agency at the same time and bonded, becoming close friends from the beginning. It'd been 18 months, though, since he'd been plucked out, sworn to secrecy and thrust into the most intense year of his life. But now that was done, and he was back.

He opened the door of the office the guys said she was working in and saw her sitting there, her back to him. She hadn't changed at all. Long, dark, shining hair, curvy figure encased in a pantsuit and the wire-framed glasses perched on her nose. And from the way she hadn't moved since he opened the door, she didn't know he was back.

He walked up to her chair and placed in his hands on the back of it. "Hey, Sami."

That voice. Damn, she missed it. And the presence of someone behind her led her to believe she wasn't imagining it. She turned in her seat, and there he was. "Stu?"

Her next movements were somewhat involuntary, but her instincts were right on. She pushed away from the desk and stood, launching herself at him. Her arms went around his neck, and his around her back.

"I've missed you so much, Sami," Stu whispered into her hair.

"I thought you were gone."

"I know, and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything."

"All that doesn't matter," Sami said, laying her head on his shoulder. "You're here now."

Stu let himself enjoy the embrace of his best friend for several moments. He knew he'd have to tell her the news. "Yeah, about that."

All too soon, the reality set in for Sami that she was in a full-on embrace with Stu at work. And though he was holding onto her as much as she was him, it still bordered on the inappropriate. Her embarrassment mixed with her burgeoning emotions that sent prickles of tears to her eyes, and she gently pulled away.

Fake-slapping him on the shoulder as she stepped back, she covered up her emotion with a half-laugh and said, "Where have you been?"

Slightly confused at her watery eyes and flushed cheeks, Stu took her by the arm and led her to a bench that lined the windows and sat them both down on it. "You know, Sami, that out of everyone here, you're the one I'd been the closest to. I mean, we started together. We trained together, had each other's back –"

"Stu, just spill it," Sami said.

He took a deep breath. "You want to know where I've been for the last year and a half."

"That'd be a start."

"The Farm."

One second, then two as the information sunk into Sami's brain. "Camp Peary?"

Stu nodded, then waited for her response. He didn't need to say more. Everyone knew what happened at the Farm. You went in a recruit; you came out a government agent.

At his nod, Sami blinked hard, the tears of joy at his return slipping down onto her lower lashes. The information began to sink further into her conscience and things began to slip into place. She leaned back, taking it all in.

He had left, without a word to anyone, 18 months ago. Though she begged Auggie, there was no information to be had as to where her best friend had disappeared to. And as he looked at her, she looked at him, now taking in his appearance for the first time. A finer cut suit than she'd ever seen him in, silk tie and shining dress shoes. He seemed to have thinned out, gained a more muscular build, and even his hair was different – shorter in a distinctive cut.

He was a CIA officer.

Though he'd come back, he was leaving her – them behind. Again.

Whatever reaction Stu was expecting from his best friend, the look on her face now wasn't the homecoming he expected. She looked lost, upset, angry.

"Sami?" he asked, reaching out to her hand.

She felt his touch, but jerked away and stood up. When she spoke, her voice was thick and husky. "Congrats, Stu. Really. I mean, if anything, you look great."

Stu could smell insincerity when he heard it. "Sami, come on."

Sami kept moving, though, back to her desk until she bumped against it with her hip.

Stu felt slighted with her response, and just a bit upset himself. He knew he had to apologize for having left her – them – in the lurch. But hell, everyone else was happy to see him back. Why did she look like he told her her puppy died?

He stood off the bench to approach her, his hand reaching out for her again when the door opened, and his former boss appeared.

"Hey, Officer Stu?" Auggie asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, Aug," Stu replied, his hand dropping back to his side.

"Got a minute?"

Stu wanted to stay and talk with Sami some more, but she'd settled back down to her desk, her entire posture one of someone who didn't want to talk. He sighed and followed Auggie back out of the office.

A few days later, things hadn't changed much for Stu where Sami was concerned. She avoided him, and he'd spent the time in intense study for his impending duties for the DPD. Given their past and proximity in the bullpen, Annie seemed to have made it her mission to break him in. And, as she was talking to him that day, she could see that his mind wasn't on his work.

"Am I going too fast or something?" she asked.

"Huh?" Stu asked, bringing his gaze from the floor up to Annie's face. "No, it's nothing you've done."

"Then what is it? If you're regretting the decision, it's a little late now to back out," she said with a laugh.

"Oh, no, I don't regret it at all. It's great, wonderful. Just wish everyone else thought so."

"Who?" Annie asked. "I saw you with the tech guys your first day back. I fully expected them to hoist you on their shoulders and carry you around the department."

Stu smiled at the imagery. "The tech guys are fine. It's just –"

At the look on his face, and as his eyes slid back down to the floor, Annie sat the paper she was holding on her desk and faced him fully. "Tell me. We're not going to get any work done unless you come clean."

Stu knew this and agreed to tell her. "It's Sami – Samantha Parker." Annie nodded that she knew who he was talking about, and he continued. "She's my best friend, or was, at least. I think my being away and not being able to confide in her made her mad at me or something."

"Ohh."

"I was closer to her than anyone else here, Annie. I thought, of anyone, she'd be the happiest for me. But when I told her why I was gone and what had happened, she reacted as if I'd said her puppy died or something."

Annie wasn't sure what to say to the man. She didn't know much about Samantha Parker, but couldn't fathom any reason why anyone here would begrudge him his promotion. "I don't know what to say, Stu. Maybe she's just shocked? Give her time."

They didn't get much more work finished, and Annie called it a day on their homework, allowing Stu to return to his desk while she made a beeline for Auggie's office.

"Hey, Auggie, got a minute?" she asked, sliding his door shut to give them some privacy.

"For you, anytime. What's on your mind?"

"Stu was just talking to me. About him and Sami."

Auggie slid back in his chair while Annie detailed to him everything Stu had told her.

"So, they were friends, huh?" she asked.

"The closest I've ever seen between a man and woman without being married," Auggie said with a smile. "When Stu left, she plagued me with questions. Where did he go? Was he alive? Could she call him? Send a message? I had no answers, because I knew nothing myself."

Annie took a seat beside him. "Do you think they were involved?"

"I don't know. They started at the same time here and were as thick as thieves in the few years they worked together. I was planning on having her handle him when he goes active. She knows him better than anyone."

Annie scoffed, "You'd have a time of that now. Apparently, they aren't speaking."

Auggie shook his head. This would never do. Though technically Stu wasn't under his tutelage anymore, he was sure Joan couldn't be bothered with inter-office relationships. If he planned on making Stu's progression from tech analyst to agent successful, he'd have to mend some fences first. And he'd have to do it fast. Stu was going live at the end of the week.

He knew Sami was still working in the back office alone, so he waited a few minutes after Annie left and poked his head through his door. "Hey Stu, got a minute?"

"Yeah, Aug, what's up?"

"Follow me," Auggie said, leading the man through tech ops until he came to the wooden door.

"Aug, I don't think that's –"

Auggie ignored Stu's protest and ushered him in. "Sami?"

"Yeah, Auggie, what's up?" Sami asked, standing up from her desk and trying to avoid the gaze of the dark-haired man standing beside her boss.

Auggie shut the door behind him. "What's up is Stu is going live on a mission in 48 hours. He'll need a handler in-house, of course, and I've made the decision to give that duty to you, Sami. Any problems or differences between you will need to be made up within those two days." The intake of air from both people in the room told Auggie that his announcement was a shock to both of them. "You have a half hour until end of day, so I'll leave you to it."

And with that final sentence, the head of tech ops left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2  
"Sami, I'm sorry."

"I'm so sorry, Stu."

Both chuckled as their apologies coincided. Stu went over to the bench in front of the window and held out his hand to her, silently imploring her to join him.

With a sigh of acceptance, Sami stood and took his hand, sitting next to him as they were only a few days ago. Then, she'd had been blindsided by so many emotions that she overreacted, but since that time, she'd thought her situation over and decided that, no matter how it happened, Stu was back.

And the way he looked at her now, wondering, caring, with a tinge of hurt in his expressive brown eyes, she knew she had to explain herself. "God, I've missed you. More than you know. But, it's been over a year, you know. I let you go."

The thread of hope Stu had held onto all week snapped at her words. "I see, so you don't think we could go back to being friends."

"No!" Sami said quickly, and Stu lifted his eyes back up to hers. "I mean, it's not that. We couldn't not be friends. We know each other too well. We're inevitable."

Stu nodded, and the corner of his mouth tilted up into a half-smile. He turned toward her more. "You know, I never stopped thinking about you. And I wanted to get in touch, really. I'd begged Joan to at least tell Auggie, who I know would pass the information on to you, but she refused. So I just went on and hoped you wouldn't be too mad when I returned. Hell, I just hoped you'd be here when I came back, you know?"

Sami smiled, "Not mad, not anymore, and obviously, still here."

"The first part, I wasn't sure of. The second, of course, was self-explanatory. So, you know what I've been doing all this time. What about you? Anything exciting? Go on any trips? Find a new best friend?"

He'd rattled off the questions quickly, but Sami caught the last one. "Stu, come on, I said we couldn't not be friends. You were, are, and will always be the closest friend I've ever had."

He smiled more fully before sliding forward and enveloping her in a hug. Sami slid her arms around his back and laid her head on his shoulder. God, she missed this, she thought. In the past, she'd never thought anything of Stu's hugs or pats on the back or caresses. They were, true to the definition of the term, actual best friends. Only when he'd left did she realize her depth of feeling for the man in her arms right now.

She closed her eyes at the memory of the pain that'd coursed through her when she realized she'd unknowingly fallen in love with him. She'd cursed her luck, the fates, kismet, hell, she even cursed her co-workers and whatever unseen force had taken her Stu away from her.

A fragment of that pain had resurfaced Monday when he said he was an officer now. His choice was pulling him away from her again, but if what Auggie said was correct, they'd now be partners. It'd have to do, she thought. Even if Stu didn't return her more-than-friends feelings, they'd still be working together.

Letting out a slow breath, Stu let the anxiety he'd been holding dissipate. He'd been so worried that his extended, unexplained absence would have been unforgivable to Sami. He had a lot to make up for, and even with their new lives, he hoped to make it up to her.

She didn't deserve the hurt he'd inflicted on her. She didn't deserve to be hurt in any capacity. They'd been thrown together so many years ago, both newbies in the high-tech, fast-paced world of covert operations. They leaned on each other for support and help, and after a few happy hours with others from the department, found they had a lot in common.

Ever since then, he had her back, and she had his. They took care of each other and shared their lives ever since.

"So," Sami said, releasing him. "Think we should go break the news to Auggie, or let him stew for a bit?"

Stu laughed, "You think that's wise? The man did just give you a promotion."

"Ugh," Sami said. "You're no fun. Okay, let's go tell him the good news."

Auggie sat at his desk, his fingers drumming on the arm of his chair as he waited for Stu and Sami to come out of the office. He thought he heard laughter and hoped that was a sign of a breakthrough. He remembered back to Annie's comment the other day about whether or not they were a couple before Stu left.

He hadn't thought so at the time, and to be truthful, he generally kept out of the personal lives of his department. Sami's reaction to Stu leaving 18 months ago, Auggie thought at the time, was just that of a close friend. It happened all the time in their profession.

Hell, his own history was full of lost friends and loves. But Sami wasn't a hardened CIA agent or Army war vet. She was just a tech analyst, who was obviously closer to the new agent than any of them had thought.

"Well, any progress?" Annie asked, popping her head into Auggie's office.

"I think so," Auggie said. "Put them in a closed office and told them to work out their difference by the end of the day."

"Impressive," Annie said with a smile, walking in to perch at the corner of his desk. "You're really going to let her be his handler, huh?"

"Yep."

"Stu and Sami," Annie said. "Sounds almost as good as Annie and Auggie. Think they'll have the same…chemistry as we do?"

Auggie rolled his chair over closer to her, "Why, whatever do you mean, Miss Walker?"

"What I'm trying to ask, in a covert manner, of course, is whether you found out if they ever got beyond the 'friend' zone," Annie said.

"Well," Auggie said, allowing his hand to rest on the desk next to hers. He smiled as her fingers slid over his. "It took a while for us to get beyond it, maybe we should just let nature take its course with them?"

With a sigh of resignation, Annie allowed their hands to caress each other's for a few more seconds. "Agreed. But if we do see any kind of new activity, one of us has to talk to them."

Auggie nodded, "Don't want them to go through the same kind of hell we did, huh?"

"It wouldn't be fair. They've already gone through so much. You know, I never did buy that line you gave me about the CIA highly encouraging in-house dating," she said with a grin.

"They do, I swear! But not –"

"I know, I know, not between partners. We've made it work for us, though."

Auggie gave her hand another caress before pulling back again. "And they will, too. I promise."

A/N Thank you for reading. Could you take a moment to review?

Chapter 3: Chapter 3  
After letting Auggie in on the good news that their differences had been patched up, Sami invited Stu back to her place for some catching up and a few beers. Stu could tell that Auggie wanted to ask why there was a problem to begin with, but he summed it up nicely, saying it was just a misunderstanding. He seemed to buy the story, so they headed out.

Sami left him on the couch with a six pack and the remote while she went to change out of her worksuit. The déjà vu of so many months ago washed over her as she shut her bedroom door. Back then, if they had nothing else to do after work and didn't want to go out, they'd often head back to his place or hers, have a few drinks and talk. Sometimes they took in a movie or watched tv.

Now, though, it seemed just a bit harder having him in her place, given her more romantic feelings toward him now. It'd taken her a full month to come to terms with it after he left. She'd even tried dating, and though it filled the loneliness void, it seemed no other guy measured up to Stu. She kept comparing them, and before things got too intense, she broke it off. It wasn't fair to either of them.

But now, she's got her Stu back. It wasn't nice of fate to drop him back into her life looking better than she'd ever seen him. And it wasn't just the expensive suits. The confidence and authority he exuded now, coupled with the toned and muscular body, made her libido jump sky high. God, she thought. I'm a 28-year-old professional woman with a couple of college degrees. You'd think I'd gotten beyond high school crushes.

She chuckled at herself as she slipped off her suit jacket and dropped it on the end of her bed. If she didn't get her thoughts under control, she'd wind up saying something embarrassing and thoroughly mess up the good thing she had here.

She'd slipped on a pair of yoga pants and was pulling out a t-shirt from her dresser when a knock sounded on her door, and before she could tell Stu to hold on, she was still dressing, the door slid open, and he walked in.

"Hey, Sami, you wouldn't happen to still have my spare set of clothes here, would you?" he asked, he steps in halted as his eyes fell on. She'd taken so long, he assumed she'd finished dressing by now, but the sight before him now stopped him in his tracks.

Pink knit pants covered her from the hips down, but she was bare from the waist up. Her straight long hair was down in a silken sheath across her back, stopping just south of her shoulder blades. And as she turned at his entrance, he caught a glimpse of her bare chest – just seconds before she pulled her arms and shirt up to hide. It wasn't fast enough, nor did her arms or shirt hide the swells of her breasts on the side.

His hand clenched on the door handle as his body reacted to her beauty. He'd always thought her lovely, and more than once wondered what it'd be like to cross the friends threshold, but he'd valued her friendship and didn't want to destroy a good thing. But that was then, back when they were working in the same department, side-by-side.

Now things had changed, obviously, and as his eyes took in her frame for the first time as a man instead of a friend, he couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed her subtle beauty before. Her `subdued pantsuits, glasses and barely there makeup in the office, he now saw, hid a slight frame that curved out in the hip and chest. He always knew she was a woman, but seeing those curves in front of him was a different thing entirely.

Instinctively, he took a couple of steps toward her, not being able to stop himself.

Those expressive brown eyes of his, which Sami had always liked about Stu, rooted her to the spot. Never before had they been filled with what she saw there now. Desire, want, lust. All the things that she'd dreamed of, allowed herself to fantasize about in the past year. She could afford it then because, she thought, he wasn't coming back. He was gone.

But now? Now she wasn't dreaming, nor was she fantasizing. She stood in her bedroom, half-naked save her shirt she clutched to her breasts. And he was approaching, his eyes looking as if he wanted to devour her. It was so akin to her dreams, her body immediately reacted, from her nipples hardening to a zip of desire along her limbs. Her lower abdomen, as well, clenched in anticipation.

She felt as if she were standing at the edge of a cliff, and a decision had to be made right then, right there, as to whether she'd jump. Her mouth opened with the answer to her unspoken question, but no words came out.

It was only a few steps from her door, across the plush carpeting to her dresser where she stood, but the time it took Stu to cross to her seemed an eternity. He had no time to think, to rationalize or second-guess his actions. He was running on instinct.

In her bare feet, he stood taller than her by a few inches, and when he came within touching distance, one hand glided up her arm to her shoulder while the other tipped her chin up so he could look in her eyes.

Those eyes that he always admired for their deep blue hues looked up at him now through the lenses of her glasses. Even with the slight distortion, Stu could still see her emotions, could now recognize them as the ones he'd glimpsed the day he'd come back, when she threw herself in his arms.

They mirrored his own desire, and the realization went through him like a shockwave. His fingers cupping her chin slid up her jawline. "How long?"

"Wh – what?" Sami gasped out, Stu's nearness and touch making it near impossible for her to hear above the thundering of her heart rate.

"You want me," Stu said, the bluntness of his word choice deliberate. He needed to know how much time had been wasted.

Her very thoughts on his lips caused a flood of embarrassment to wash over Sami, and she dropped her gaze as her cheeks reddened. "Stu, come on."

"Don't do that, not now," he said, gently bringing her face up to his again. "Please, I've got to know."

She was found out, and she knew she couldn't lie to him. "Could you turn around for a second?"

His fingers subtly clenched into her bare skin in protest. "I'll tell you everything, just let me finish getting dressed."

He nodded, and after a second, took a deep breath and turned around. Sami swiftly pulled her t-shirt on, instantly feeling less vulnerable and open before his eyes. She could talk to him now. "Since after you left."

Stu turned at her whispered words, half disappointed that her beautiful body was now covered in a pink t-shirt, half astonished at her confession. "All this time? All this time, and you never said anything? Sami, why?"

"How could I have said anything?" Sami countered, throwing up her hands. "You left, without a word to anyone. And before you say anything, I know you tried. I'm not blaming you, Stu."

She let out a deep breath before continuing. "I didn't even know it myself at the time. I just thought this was normal behavior for someone whose best friend had gone. But, after a while, I realized my pain went further than that, and what I'd felt was my heart breaking."

He crossed the room to her, and this time, Sami let him embrace her; welcomed it, in fact, as the memory of that heartbreak welled up in her. His arms engulfed her, and his face buried in her hair. She gripped and clung onto the lapels of his suit jacket, the fine fabric smooth against her cheek.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that alone," she heard him whisper into her hair. "And you're right. Nothing can change the past, but if you want –"

He pulled away just far enough that he could take in her face. "If you want, if you still feel the same way, I think we can do this."

"Stu, you don't have to –"

Before she could finish that sentence, or pull away, he knew he had to convince her that what was happening here, between them, wasn't one-sided. Her hands, trapped between them, her palms flat against his chest, could push him away at any moment. So he did the only thing he could think of, the only thing he wanted to do right at that moment.

Sami knew he was going to kiss her before his hand slid up her back to cup her head. But she wanted to give him an out, make sure his sense of duty or fair play wasn't driving him to reciprocate her feelings.

The vision through her glasses distorted as his face drew closer, and so she closed her eyes and waited. She didn't know why she expected their first kiss to be soft and gentle. Maybe because in her dreams, they'd come together under different circumstances, so much unlike what was happening now.

Only one word could express their first kiss – passion. The build-up of a couple of years of closeness, bonding, heartbreak and separation came through, and Sami gripped harder onto his jacket as his arm behind her back lifted her onto her toes, while his other hand dived into her hair and tilted her head.

Sami whimpered as his lips crashed into hers. The whimper settled into a sigh and then a groan as he lifted her more fully against him. Her balance on her toes became precarious as their kiss deepened, and she quickly lifted her arms until they wrapped around his neck. His new strength showed itself as he lifted her slight frame fully off the floor.

Stu only meant to kiss her gently, show her that, without a doubt, her feelings weren't one-sided. But once he saw her eyes flutter shut and her jaw tilt, offering herself so freely, something within him broke. He jumped from taking care of her, reassuring his Sami, across the board to needing to touch, taste, experience her whole.

Only when she forcefully pulled away, gasping for breath, did his senses return, and he reluctantly let her go. The effort, though, slid her body against his as her feet touched the ground, and he hoped the thickness of his suit shielded her against his evident desire.

"Wow," Sami whispered, taking a step back to catch her breath. "You really know how to convince a girl."

"No," Stu said, his arms sliding out from behind her as she stepped away and catching hers as they slid down his chest. "Not any girl, just you. It's always been just you."

The End


End file.
